Nathan Coles OutfitTwelve Upheavals That Brought the Redwoods to Flight

Like many of his contemporaries from Guelph, Ontario  Jim Guthrie, Royal City  Nathan Coles takes an unorthodox, impressionistic approach to roots music. On this first album with his full-time band since their live debut last summer, Coles leads them down a winding path of drastic mood swings and tempo shifts, but everything manages to hang together as a cohesive whole thanks to inspired performances by all involved. Don Kerrs production keeps things spare in the classic Canadiana tradition, and it therefore shouldnt be surprising that there are strong echoes of the Rheostatics on songs like "I Watch and "Angry Eyed. For Coles part, his voice is his biggest strength: a sad, tremulous instrument that at times bears a remarkable resemblance to Tim Hardin, as well as Will Oldham. For all of the albums simple surface beauty, its many underlying subtleties require close attention to appreciate. But at least this shows that Coles is following his unique muse, which should provide a fruitful road ahead.
(Independent)